Granger on Movies: 'Edge of Tomorrow'

Published 5:05 pm, Friday, June 6, 2014

Tom Cruise is back in action in the new sci-fi thriller, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Tom Cruise is back in action in the new sci-fi thriller, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Tom Cruise is having a bad day -- again and again -- in the new movie, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Tom Cruise is having a bad day -- again and again -- in the new movie, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Tom Cruise is having a bad day -- again and again -- in the new movie, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Tom Cruise is having a bad day -- again and again -- in the new movie, "Edge of Tomorrow."

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt battle aliens in "Edge of Tomorrow."

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt battle aliens in "Edge of Tomorrow."

Photo: Contributed Photo

Granger on Movies: 'Edge of Tomorrow'

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Following is Fairfield Citizen film critic Susan Granger's review of the new movie, "Edge of Tomorrow:"

Set in the near future when a brutal, seemingly invincible, hive-like alien race, known as the Mimics, is invading Earth, this action-packed sci-fi thriller stars Tom Cruise as U.S. Army Major William Cage, who handles military public relations for the United Defense Force.

Terrified and totally inexperienced in combat, he's dispatched from London by Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) to the front lines on Normandy Beach in France, where he's killed immediately. Inexplicably, he's then thrown into a confusing yet continual time loop, where Master Sgt. Farrell (Bill Paxton) forces him to relive the harrowing bloodbath again and again. It's "Live. Die. Repeat." Like "Groundhog Day" on the battlefield.

Yet, with each enemy encounter, Cage becomes more skilled, teaming up with a super soldier, Special Forces Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), known as the Angel of Verdun.

Unlike his usual heroic roles ("Mission Impossible," "Jack Reacher," "Oblivion"), Cruise's Cage starts out as a cocky, inept, cowardly underdog who discovers he cannot talk his way out of this fight. Enlisting experienced, if merciless Vrataski, a.k.a. the Full Metal Bitch, as an unlikely ally, and overcoming his initial frustration, Cage gradually realizes that as they change tactics, they're gaining advantages along the way. Their objective: the destruction of the aliens' brain device called the Omega, which is hidden somewhere in war-ravaged Paris.